5 mistakes you're making when cooking burgers at home that can be easily fixed

Tips include not flipping the meat more than once and using fat and salt.

A thermometer and cast iron skillet are two good tools to use when cooking meat.

Cooking meat at home can be tricky.

You have to cook the meat to the right temperature to be safe to eat — yet not too long that it's no longer delicious.

This balance can take several burger patties — don't dive right into cooking raw meat with an expensive steak— to perfect, but once you grasp the basics, branching out into more proteins should feel easier.

Perhaps the easiest way to start cooking meat, should you find yourself completely overwhelmed with a pound of raw beef, is with burgers, which can be cooked on a stovetop or outdoors on a grill.

Holistic nutritionist Angela Bicos Mavridis grew up flipping patties in her family's burger joint, but she also spent thirty five years as a vegetarian. Recently, she's paused her abstinence from meat and has launched her own meat company, Tribali Foods.

Whether you've never cooked meat before or just want to up your weeknight burger game, we had Mavridis share some tips on cooking meat at home.

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Over-flipping the meat.

The biggest mistake most people make when cooking meat: flipping it too many times."You should never flip it more than once," Mavridis says. While some meats require extra vigilance, a burger isn't one of them.

Other ways to quickly destroy your dinner: Pressing down on the meat and releasing the juices, as well as not letting the pan or grill heat up enough before starting to cook.

Cutting the meat to see if it's done

Even pros rely on a thermometer to ensure their steaks, chops, and other meats cook to the right internal temp. It's the easiest and most accurate way to ensure your meat is safe to eat, but also not overcooked.